Eternal Night
| rarity = Very Rare | type = Global Enchantment | casting_cost = | upkeep_cost = | research_cost = | effects = Every battle is automatically affected by an equivalent of the spell, which gives a wide array of bonuses to all creatures, and a similar array of penalties to creatures. Only battles taking place in Towns protected by are exempt from this effect. }} Eternal Night is a Very Rare Global Enchantment that belongs to the Realm. It may be cast on the overland map for the base Casting Cost of . While Eternal Night is in play, every battle that does not take place in a Town protected by comes under an effect virtually identical to that of the spell. As a result, all creatures gain a large number of small-but-significant increases to their combat attributes. At the same time, all creatures are inflicted with a similar set of penalties. Eternal Night has its own Upkeep Cost of , to be paid every turn to keep it in play. However the effect is put into play in each battle at no additional cost, preserving that would otherwise be spent on casting it. Furthermore, while Eternal Night can be Disjuncted, nothing can be done to remove the effect once a battle is already underway. Effects Eternal Night covers the entire world in dark energy, automatically shrouding every battle in . This gives great benefits to creatures of , who thrive in the dark; while simultaneously weakening creatures of . Darkness : While Eternal Night is in effect, each and every battle anywhere in the world is considered as being under the effect of the spell, unless it is taking place in a Town protected by . gives the following bonuses to each and every unit associated with the Realm, including any Undead units: * bonus to Melee Strength (provided that the unit has a Melee Attack). * (or or , as appropriate) bonus to Ranged Attack Strength (if the unit possesses a Ranged Attack at all). * +1 bonus to any short-range Special Attacks the unit may have ( , , and any Physical Damage component of Gaze Attacks, hidden or otherwise). * bonus to the unit's Defense score. * bonus to the unit's Resistance score. Simultaneously, also gives the following penalties to each and every Fantastic Unit that belongs to the Realm: * penalty to Melee Strength (while this effect would also decrease other Attack Strengths, the affected units will never have any in the official game); * penalty to Defense; * penalty to Resistance. All of these adjustments apply on a per- basis, making them significantly stronger when they affect units. While nearly all creatures are unfortunately , making the negative effect even less potent than it otherwise could be; both natural units and Undead often have multiple , and can make excellent use of the positive enhancements. Every unit on the battlefield associated with the Realms of or is affected by Eternal Night, regardless of their allegiance. However, a spell cast by the opponent can cancel out all of these, resulting in a net zero benefit to either party. Automatic Area Effect Eternal Night does not actually cast each time the battle begins. Instead, it has an area effect that does not require any casting (nor any expenditure of ), and cannot be dispelled during the battle. Subsequently, Darkness will not appear in the Combat Enchantments panel of the battle screen, and Eternal Night is instead displayed on the list of external effects, which can be viewed by clicking on the "Info" button in combat. Note that it is nonetheless impossible to cast during a battle to gain cumulative bonuses with Eternal Night. The game will object to this, claiming that the spell is already in effect. This remains true even if the above benefits are cancelled out by the opponent casting . Usage Eternal Night may only be cast on the overland map, for a high Casting Cost of . To keep the spell in effect, the casting Wizard must pay an Upkeep Cost of exactly per turn. Failure to pay this cost due to lack of will cause Eternal Night to dissipate. After casting it, the spell's name will appear on the "Overland Enchantments" list of the Magic Screen. The color in which the name is printed indicates which Wizard controls the enchantment. The player can cancel their own Eternal Night spell from here manually at any time by clicking on its name. The primary reason to do this would be in order to remove its Upkeep Cost, thus conserving for other spells. Acquisition As a Very Rare spell, Eternal Night may become available to any Wizard who possesses at least Spellbooks. However, its availability during the game is not guaranteed unless the Wizard starts with, or otherwise obtains, at least Spellbooks. It may not be acquired at the start of the campaign. Wizards with to Spellbooks have a random chance of being able to Research Eternal Night during the game. The chances of this spell appearing for research increases with the number of Spellbooks the Wizard possesses or gains during gameplay. With or books, the spell is guaranteed to show up for research at some point, unless obtained by other means. Eternal Night has a Research Cost of , although its research may be sped up by the Sage Master Retort, or a bookshelf containing or more. With at least Spellbooks, Eternal Night may also be acquired as Treasure for defeating Encounter Zones, or found when conquering the Fortress of a rival Wizard who has already researched this spell. Strategy Eternal Night is essentially a combat time-saver, and can also conserve some after it's cast. Its entire point is that the caster will no longer need to cast each time a battle erupts in order to augment his/her units. Because Eternal Night already puts this effect in place automatically at the start of each and every battle, the player is free to cast other useful spells, and more of them. It also applies in magical Nodes, where casting otherwise may prove to be problematic. As far as expenditure concerns go, Eternal Night is fairly cost-efficient. Unless playing with the Channeler Retort, or relying heavily on Spellcaster Heroes, fighting at least one battle each turn where would be cast will generally make this spell worthwhile. The time-saving quality explained above can further justify its costs. Getting other spells out early in a battle may lead to much more decisive victories. Naturally, this spell is only effective if the player uses plenty of -aligned creatures and Undead units. Otherwise, there are no real benefits to casting it - except perhaps when fighting a war against a Wizard. Then again -wielding players can rarely afford not to lead on plenty of creatures, so this point is rarely an issue. However, while battling other Wizards, Eternal Night may become a double-edged sword. Finally, note that once Eternal Night is cast, it should be prudent to cancel all existing Town Enchantments. Both of these spells provide the same benefits and are not cumulative, meaning that Eternal Night turns obsolete, which would then only serve to burn up an Upkeep Cost each turn. Category:Global Enchantments Category:Death